Microsoft® Challenges Students to use High Performance Computing to Address Everyday Problems
£20,000 in Prizes and a Judging Panel Consisting of the Leaders in HPC from Across the UK
Reading – UK – 12 November 2007 - Microsoft UK has launched a new competition aimed at improving lives through technology. The HPC Challenge is a High Performance Computing competition committed to helping the brightest minds in the UK innovatively solve the World’s toughest problems. The competition is open now to UK based higher education organisations and the first phase closes on 14th December 2007. Terms and conditions apply, students can register at www.imaginecup.co.uk
The winners of the competition will receive £5,000 for their team and a further £5,000 for their institution, with the five runners-up teams receiving £2,000. Teams registering for the competition will be able to acquire Microsoft Windows® Compute Cluster Server (CCS) licenses for £1 per node (minimum 10 nodes) to support the development of their solutions.
“HPC is about solving the really big problems. It's about taking technology beyond what you can achieve on a PC: designing drugs and combating diseases; breaking codes and safeguarding privacy; forecasting the money markets; designing new aircraft and testing new cars; predicting the future of the universe - or of our climate next month.
We want to encourage students with ideas about how to change the world. Let’s get them using the best technology on the planet to make their ideas’ real. We believe that students entering this competition will address problems that could significantly improve the daily lives of millions of people around the world in the future – realising their own potential and that of High Performance Computing” said Dr Michael Newberry, HPC Product Manager at Microsoft UK.
The final will take place at a Microsoft HPC User Group meeting in May 2008, where each finalist will present and be judged on the originality of the problem they are solving and the process that led to the final submission. The HPC User Group consists of some of Britain’s pre-eminent researchers working in fields as diverse as climate change, epidemiology, security and the financial sector and will be looking for creativity, vision and innovation in all entries.
Professor Simon Cox , Professor of Computational Methods, in the School of Engineering Sciences at the University of Southampton added “I’m sure I will be amazed by the submissions. The students who participate in Student vs Student represent the next generation of leaders. Their creativity and innovation speaks volumes about the promise of technology to make a difference in peoples’ lives in the way we think, work and communicate.”
About Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is an integrated, standards-based compute clustering platform built on top of Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition. Using the same interface paradigm the product allows IT professionals to begin using HPC quickly and easily.
Microsoft's goal is to empower end users by allowing them to easily harness distributed computing resources to solve complex problems. Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 is the most recent step in that effort, as Microsoft continues to focus on making distributed computing resources easier to use, more efficient to deploy, and less expensive to operate.
Notes to editors
The phases of the competition are divided as follows:
| • | Phase 1 – Now to December 14th 2007 – registration, submission of proposals |
| • | Phase 2 – Assessment of all entries with the top five announced in February 2008. These will each receive a £2,000 team prize and then be invited to meet, present and discuss their ideas with the UK’s top HPC experts and the Microsoft HPC User Group Meeting. |
| • | Phase 3 – The final takes place in London at the Microsoft HPC User Group meeting in May 2008, where the winning team will receive a £5,000 prize and a further £5,000 for their institution. |
About SouthamptonUniversity
The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship. It is one of the UK's top 10 research universities, offering first-rate opportunities and facilities for study and research across a wide range of subjects in humanities, health, science and engineering. The University has around 20,000 students and over 5000 staff. Its annual turnover is in the region of £310 million. www.southampton.ac.uk
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
| • | Visit the Microsoft UK homepage for further information on Microsoft products |
Contact information
Journalists should contact The Microsoft Press Centre. Telephone 0870 20 77377, lines are open 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday.
Customer enquiries should be directed to Microsoft on 0870 6010 100. Opening hours are 8.00am to 6.00pm.
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